


After the dust, before the snow

by MissBrunetteBarbie



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-03
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-10-06 10:08:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20505203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissBrunetteBarbie/pseuds/MissBrunetteBarbie
Summary: Viserra Targaryen survives her fall and wonders if death wouldn't be easier than life.





	After the dust, before the snow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [impmon101](https://archiveofourown.org/users/impmon101/gifts).

> This fic was a bitch to write! I had the worst writer's block ever. It went through so many changes it is almost very different from what I initially planned. And thank your lucky stars for that, because you do NOT want to read the first draft! Anyway, I hope it is good enough

Everyone told her how lucky she was for surviving her fall, but she truly felt lucky when they told her that her fiancé died three moons after. While Viserra was still waiting for her cracked ribs and broken leg to heal, the elderly Lord Manderly died of a chill.

The girl would have dance of joy if she did not know that her mother would soon arrange her a new match. 

And sure enough, Princess Viserra Targaryen found herself in front of a heart tree on her six-and-ten nameday. Her new groom was only twelve years older than her, so maybe she should be grateful for that. He also had no sons and all his teeth in his mouth. Lord Edric Stark, Lord of Winterfell, Lord Paramount of the North and Warden of the North, unclasped the three-headed dragon cloak from her shoulders and put instead his white direwolf.

After the wedding was over, it came for the bedding. Her brother, Baelon, bless his soul, carried her to her chambers, making sure that the lustful drunks will not get their hands on her clothes. When they reached the end of the stairs, he put her down and whispered in her ear:

-Be brave!

VIserra felt the urge to laugh hysterically. Instead she sneered. 

-I would not have to “be brave” if you would have married me like I asked you to!

Baelon had the decency to look ashamed. 

-You deserved better than a widower to whom you will always be second best, Viserra.

Now, she did laugh.

-Mother disagreed. Why else would have she arranged my marriage to the late Lord Manderly.

The princess did not let her brother say another word, before she opened the door and came face to face with her husband. 

-You were laughing, Edric Stark said matter-of-factly.

-Not out of joy, she explained, bitterly. 

-Do you think I like this more than you? I did not ask to be settled with southern frilly princess who expects everyone to bow to her every whim! How am I expected to rule Winterfell when I will wonder every day if my southern wife hasn’t decided to run away!

Her husband’s angry rant caught her off guard. It was the first emotion she saw from the glacial man. A part of her appreciated it, thinking that it might not be a good idea to start this marriage with the left foot.

-I will not run away, she whispered.

-How should I know this? 

-Because, I may hate the life that was planned for me, but I am no coward. A Targaryen does not run away!

-Your sister did, right after she whored herself to half the court!

SLAP!

Edric stumbled backwards from the hit.

-How dare you! You have no right to talk about Saera! I forbid you to talk about her!

Edric scoffed. 

-You may forbid it as much as you like. Everybody knows the truth. 

He did not give her a chance to answer, kissing her lips, holding her mouth prisoner. Viserra kissed him back without thinking. Unlike her previous fiancé, Edric was handsome and, had he been a Tyrell or a Lannister were a noble who did not live in a frozen wasteland, she would not have objected to him as a match as much as she did.

**

The first weeks in the North were a nightmare for the princess. Everyone, from the servants to the bannermen looked at her purple eyes and silver-gold hair and thought her some exotic beast. The cold was unbearable, traveling through her bones. All in all, Viserra felt like a fish out of water. 

Edric had offered to build her a sept, but she had refused him. She believed in no gods but herself, and the last thing she needed was a septon to preach about something or the other.

The godswood where her husband prayed was quite beautiful, but to the princess it felt like another reminder that this was not home, it will never be home. 

Weeks passed and soon Viserra found herself heavy with child. She did not tell anyone, least of all her husband. She was six-and-ten, older women had died in childbirth and she will not share their fate. So, she did the only thing she could do, she sent her handmaid, Joy, a girl that had served her loyally since before she had flowered, to buy her moontea.

When she drank it, Viserra thought she was going to die. But she survived and the baby did not.

Edric never found out nor did he suspect anything. The two of them had separate chambers and he came to her only once a week, so it was not strange at all to him that there was no child yet. 

Most of her days were spent instructing the servants or doing needle work with her small court of lady-in-waiting.

From King’s Lading only Amarei Sunglass and Mina Bywater came with her. Amarei was four-and-ten and her father had seven other daughters he had to supply with dowry so the only chance of a good match was through her proximity with Viserra. Mina was seven-and-ten and an orphan raised by her cousin who wasted no time in trying her luck in the North. The other ladies were all unmaried maidens of the North. At three-and-twenty Donella Mormont was the oldest. Viserra liked her outspoken nature and love of riding and, to the princess surprise, she started to regard her as a friend. Alys Ryswell was one-and-twenty and had eyes only for Viserra’s husband, Edric. She found it amusing how poor Stark had started to avoid her as much as possible after Alys had tried to kiss him in broad daylight. Betha and Serena Karstark were cousins, both the same age as Viserra, and neither of them was the daughter of the ruling Lord Karstark. Viserra liked them, but they were too empty-headed for her taste.

Today, they were sewing clothes for the poor, an activity that the princess actually enjoyed, but the Karstark girls were to busy gossiping. 

-Princess, started Betha, I think I will be betrothed soon!

Viserra raised an eye-brow. All her ladies lived for the day they will be married, Betha especially.

-To whom, may I ask?

-To Cousin Brandon, Uncle Cregan’s heir, if you believe!

Viserra did not believe it. Brandon Karstark was the heir to Karhold and he had nothing to gain from a marriage with his first cousin.

-Did you lord father tell you that? 

The question did not come from Viserra, but from Amarei, who looked at Betha like she had accomplished a monumental task. Amarei could only dream for such a match for her.

-Yes, he said that it will strengthen our house!

“It is a dream and you are a fool to believe it!” 

But the princess said nothing. She knew when to keep her mouth shut and she had realized that if she wanted to thrive in the world, she needed this women.

***  
Alys Ryswell became Lord Stark’s mistress one moon later. Viserra realized it when she saw the other woman throw her a triumphant look. The princess could not care less. As far as she was concerned, their affair was doing more harm to them than to her.

The northers had been reluctant to embrace the southern princess, but now everyone seemed to consider her the Mother reborn. Her servants were more courteous, the visiting nobles addressed her as “Lady Stark” with the same respect they used to address her husband, and even the sour-faced maester, who had once called her barren to her face, had stopped glaring at her. 

Alys was the new pariah now, and her husband wasn’t treated much better. She would have been more grateful to the northers, had she not been told by Joy that they did not disapprove of the affair itself, but of the careless way they were conducting it.

One night, when her husband visited her, she asked him how Alys was.

-Do you have no shame? He asked, truly shocked.

-I am the one with no shame?! You are the one sleeping with her, not me!

-Even so, do you not find hard to see your husband with another?

“Of course I do, but what good would come of sating it?”

-You are nothing to me! She answered, instead.

Edric stormed out, not saying anything.

Three moons later, Viserra threw up the eggs she ate in the morning and knew she was pregnant again.

***  
Queen Alysanne has decided that visiting her pregnant daughter was the motherly thing to do. 

For the first time in their marriage both Viserra and her husband were in agreement: the royal visit was a chore they had to bear with a grin and good manners. 

When Alysanne descended in the large courtyard from her dragon, the magnificent Silverwing, she was alone. No knights or ladies accompanied the queen, as such a thing would have necessitated a longer journey. But, Alysanne Targaryen was not here on business. This was a familial visit, and the whole North will know it now. 

Viserra hugged her mother, reluctantly, while Edric bowed and kissed her hand. 

The princess answered her mother question about her pregnancy and for a time it seemed like the two would get along.

-Have you and your husband taught of a name yet? 

-Not yet. However we agreed it will be a Valyrian one.

In truth, she and Edric barely tolerated each other for the sake of the child, so they haven’t much talked about names. Viserra had made it clear that her son or daughter will have a royal name and Edric had had no objection. He wanted to boast his half Targaryen offspring to his bannerman.

-Me and Jaehaerys had always had a hard time coming up with new names. Thirteen names! It was not easy! It will be even harder for you, what with Aemon and Baelon having used the best Targaryen names already.

-Well, I am used to it, mother. After all, I always get the leftovers.

Viserra covered her mouth, having shocked herself with such a bold statement.

-This is not true….

Alysanne’s protests were cut off by a surprising (for everyone) question.

-Why did you never let me ride a dragon?

The question was spoken softly, yet everyone heard it. When Viserra realized what she just said, years of resentment came pouring forward. 

-Why didn’t you let me marry Baelon? Or at least choose my own husband, like you did with all of my siblings? Why was I always your least favorite child?! 

Near the end, she was almost screaming, and tears were streaming down her cheeks. For a second, she thought her mother might scold her, but the queen response was the most unexpected thing thus far.

-BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO MUCH LIKE HER!.

Viserra’ mouth hanged open, as she tried to understand what she just heard. Not only had her mother finally confirmed her worst fears that she was not loved, but she had done so without a hint of shame.

Well, she did seem a bit ashamed now. “Too little, too late!” thought the princess viciously.

When her brain caught up with Alysanne’s exact words, Viserra had a hard time understanding who “she” was.

-Saera? 

She tried to guess, knowing how much her elder sister’s actions had hurt her.

-No, Alysanne admitted softly, Rhaena.

For a moment, Viserra was ready to ask who this Rhaena was, as she was fairly certain no member of their family carried the name, when it finally dawned on her:

-Queen Rhaena?! YOUR sister?!

-Yes, Gods, from the moment you were born, it was like you were her splitting image. And you grew and became more like her in every aspect. My sister… I loved her, but she was not easy to love! Not at all! She was…. A queen in many ways I will never be. 

-And what?! You think such a flimsy excuse gives you the right to sell me like a cow to the Starks? You said it yourself, you loved Rhaena! You even got along well from what I know. Why couldn’t you love me?!

-BECAUSE…., here Alysanne seemed to have lost her composure and started sobbing. Her daughter made no move to comfort her. It seemed none of them knew what to say.

-You can’t give me a reason because there isn’t one! The princess said softly, surprising the older woman.

-Rhaena is my ghost, Alysanne tried to explain her complicated feelings. She died mad at me, thinking that I stole her crown and let her daughter die. And she did not have an easy life, and well…. I did not want you to end up like her.

-Rhaena is your ghost, Viserra repeated, almost melancholically. When Alysanne nodded and tried to speak up, her daughter interupted her: Then go live with your ghost, mother, and forget all about me and your grandchild. You are not welcome here!

Since the talk between the two Targaryen women have been private, no one understood why the queen left less than an hour after, without a word.

She did not attend the birth of her granddaughter either, to everyone’s consternation. Only a letter of congratulations was sent from the king and queen. They received the response in the form of another letter that thanked them and informed them of the little girl’s name: Aerea.

**Author's Note:**

> I might, heavy on the MIGHT add a shorter second chapter that will happen fifteen years after and will detail Viserra's life.
> 
> Anyway, what do you think about the Alysanne and Viserra scene? It was both the hardest and most satisfying thing to write!


End file.
